


Romantic Flight

by rosegoldroman



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Winged Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Winged Sides (Sanders Sides)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 10:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18636700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldroman/pseuds/rosegoldroman
Summary: Virgil's afraid of heights. Roman thinks he can help.





	Romantic Flight

It wasn’t often that Roman got to show off his part of the mindscape. The others were always too busy, to his great chagrin. It was disappointing, to say the least, especially considering how proud he was of his imagination realm — but he never pushed it too much.

But, well. Until now. Circumstances had changed. Now he had a quest to complete, a friend to help. There weren’t any extremely pressing matters to attend to, nothing he couldn’t finish later. He could make time!

He spent a while ensuring the imagination realm was just right for the day he had planned. A clear blue sky with just enough perfectly puffy clouds, sprawling green fields of fragrant flowers, framed on one side by a towering mountain range; anyone would be stricken speechless by the beauty he’d created, especially —

“Tell me why we’re here again?”

Okay, _most_  people would be stricken speechless. A certain emo would only be stricken suspicious. “Okay, so, you remember the other night when we had that sleepover, and we played truth or dare?”

Virgil nodded slowly. “…Yes?”

“And you remember when I asked you ‘if you could get rid of one fear you have, what would it be?’”

“Yeah?” Virgil blinked. “Fear of heights. So it’d be easier on everyone when we have to fly places.”

“Exactly!” Roman grinned. “And I said, 'some immersion therapy might help you,’ and you called me a nerd and said I was spending too much time around Logan?”

“First, you are a nerd. And a dork. Second, what does this have to do with your realm, Princey?”

Roman huffed, ignoring Virgil’s insults, and spread his arms wide. “Welcome to your immersion therapy!”

His reaction wasn’t exactly what Roman had pictured. No applause, no excitement, no proclamations of undying love — wait, what?

No, Virgil just stood there, eyebrows furrowed. “Right,” he said slowly. “And how exactly is a pretty field gonna help me get over my fear of heights?”

“Oh no, Finding Emo, it’s not the field that’s going to help you. It’s what we’re going to do in it. Or, rather, over it.” Roman winked. “How do you feel about a bit of flying?”

“A bit of  _what?”_  Virgil took a step back, eyes widening.

“Flying!” Roman repeated. “I’ll be with you the whole time, and you can’t get hurt in the imagination realm so long as I’m here, so there’s no reason to fear! You can get as used to heights as you need to without any danger!”

“That’s — that’s pretty nice of you, Princey, but I-I don’t —”

“Ah, you don’t have to if you’re uncomfortable,” Roman said quickly, realizing he might have gotten a bit ahead of himself. “I just thought — I mean, I thought it would help, but if it would make you uncomfortable you needn’t try.”

“I…” Virgil hesitated. “It’s safe?”

“I swear it on my honor as a prince,” Roman said seriously. “I would  _never_ intentionally put you in any danger, Virgil. I promise.”

“Right.” Virgil didn’t quite meet his gaze, his pale cheeks dusted with pink. “How do we do it? Think happy thoughts or some shit like that?”

“I appreciate the Peter Pan reference, but no,” Roman said with a laugh. “Stand back and prepare to be amazed!”

He flexed his shoulders, snapped his fingers, and grinned as he felt the familiar weight settle on his back, shifting his center of balance ever-so-slightly. Virgil gaped, eyes wide.

“Like what you see?” Roman teased, spreading his wings out to their full length. Okay, so he was showing off a  _bit_ , but could you blame him? Virgil was the first side he’d ever taken flying. He was the first to see Roman’s wings. He was allowed to be a little proud.

“Do they work?” Virgil asked hesitantly. Roman huffed.

“Of course they work!” He wrapped his wings around himself, soaking in their warmth. They shined in the sunlight, a beautiful shimmering scarlet to match his sash. “This isn’t my first time flying, you know.”

Virgil didn’t answer. He stepped forward, expression more open than Roman had ever seen, and his hand raised as if to touch Roman’s wings. Then he shoved his hands in his pockets and his expression closed. “So you’re gonna give me… wings… so I can fly with you and get over my fear of heights.”

“Yes!” Roman said excitedly. “Ah, unless you say no, which you absolutely can —”

“It’s worth a shot,” Virgil said quickly, before he could stop himself. “Just. Just do it.”

Roman made an excited noise, his feathers puffing up with joy. “You’re sure?” he asked one more time. “I may have rushed into this, and —”

“Roman,” Virgil said sharply, cutting him off. “It’s chill. This could help.”

Roman bounced on his heels, beaming with excitement. He took a moment to think, crafting the perfect wings for Virgil in his mind, and then he snapped his fingers. Virgil gasped, stumbling backward as two massive black wings appeared on his back.

“Holy shit,” he whispered, spinning awkwardly as he reached back to try to touch the soft wings. At first glance, they seemed like inky black, but wherever the sunlight touched, they glowed iridescent purple. Unsure and hesitant, he spread them out to their full length.

“Do you like them?” Roman asked, and he’d be lying if he said his voice wasn’t at least a little bit awestruck. Wings suited Virgil.

“Roman, these are…” Virgil awkwardly wrapped one wing around himself to look at it, his eyes wide and his voice quiet. He ran his hand along the soft feathers, awe shining in his eyes. Then he schooled his expression into the most chill one he could manage, shrugging nonchalantly. “…Cool. They’re chill.”

High praise, coming from Virgil. Roman beamed. “I designed them with your emo aesthetic in mind,” he said with a laugh. Stepping up beside Virgil, he laced their fingers together, ignoring the way Virgil’s touch sent heat rushing to his cheeks. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Virgil said, shoving his free hand into his pocket. His wings bristled nervously and Roman squeezed his hand, offering him a reassuring smile.

With one beat of his mighty wings, Roman lifted off the ground. Virgil squeezed his eyes shut and managed to wobble unsteadily in the air for a moment before stumbling back to the ground.

“Come on, Bren- _done_  Urie,” Roman encouraged, subtly snapping his fingers behind his back to lower the gravity in the imagination realm ever so slightly. He tugged on Virgil’s arm as Virgil beat his wings with as much force as he could muster, and together, they shot up into the air.

“Shit!” Virgil cried, flapping his wings instinctually to keep from falling back to the ground. “Holy shit, holy  _shit —”_

“I’m right here, okay?” Roman said. His stomach was flip-flopping madly, and he had a nagging feeling it wasn’t from flying. “I’ve done this a hundred times, Virge. I’ve got you. Just focus on staying in the air.”

They weren’t very high up, barely ten or fifteen feet, but Virgil still looked at the ground beneath them as if it was a hundred miles away. “We’ll start low,” Roman said, slowly starting across the field and beckoning for Virgil to follow. “When you’re ready, we can get a bit higher.”

Virgil wasn’t ready for quite a bit — but that was more than okay. As time went on, his flight became less wobbly and more certain, and he even tried to copy some of Roman’s swooping dives, though he always pulled up with a yelp before he got too far. Roman adored the feeling of the wind coursing beneath his wings and dancing through his hair — but when Virgil grinned up at him, shaky and pale but happy, well… Roman had never adored anything more. It took only a thought to extend the field, to send some towering trees shooting up from the ground, and they dove through the forest together surrounded by laughter, racing side-by-side.

And when Roman reached the end and beat his wings powerfully, shooting up the side of the mountain and aiming for the top, Virgil following, not yelping with fear but whooping with  _joy_ , and Roman’s heart leaped with joy to match. He landed on the top of the mountain and spread his wings, closing his eyes in bliss as sunset-light washed over his face. He heard Virgil land behind him and stumble to the ground, panting heavily.

“I take it it worked?” Roman asked, turning to find the biggest grin he’d ever seen on Virgil’s face. Virgil pressed his hand to his chest, trembling from head to toe, his feathers puffed and shining.

“That was — that was  _insane,”_  he managed. “Completely fucking insane.”

“The best things in life often are,” Roman said, striding over. “So? Are you still afraid?”

Virgil looked out to the scene spread beneath them, the gorgeous field bathed in the warm glow of the sunset — and then his gaze slid over to Roman’s face. Silence reigned as they gazed at each other, and Virgil hesitated, biting his lip. “No,” he said softly, and closed the distance between them to press his lips to Roman’s.


End file.
